Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Is Donald Trump leading the US into war with Iran? Middle East scholar Vali Nasr says it definitely seems like it.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Algorithmic bias and its impact on various aspects of daily life are discussed. Examples include targeted ads, credit evaluation, job applications, and crime prediction. The potential of algorithms to address biases in areas like criminal justice and employment decisions is explored, along with concerns about the lack of diligence in algorithm development. The challenges of assessing discrimination and algorithmic bias are discussed, as well as recent developments in British politics regarding Brexit.

This year, only seven black students were accepted to Stuyvesant, one of New York's most prestigious public high schools. Harvard Law Professor Randy Kennedy says that to address the racial inequities in our education system we need to think radically. Plus, Noah discusses the recent protests in Hong Kong.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Republican party used to tout itself as the party of ideas. Now it seems to be the party of Donald Trump. Conservative thinker Peter Wehner explains what he thinks happened. Peter Wehner's Suggested Reading List: -Losing Ground by Charles Murray -The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom -The Naked Public Square by Richard John Neuhaus -Crime and Human Nature by James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Chinese scientist reportedly edited the genes of two baby twin girls last year to protect them from the AIDS virus. Harvard geneticist George Church believes we will be hearing many more stories like this soon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Dreier won a Pulitzer for her ProPublica investigation “Trapped in Gangland” about the international criminal gang MS-13. She says we can’t beat the gang if we don’t understand it.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to a new UN report, a million species are at risk of extinction. New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert says you should be seriously worried -- even if you don't like animals. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea Pitzer, the author of "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps," argues that the US government is currently operating a concentration camp system along the southern border.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cambridge professor David Runciman thinks that democracy is in an midlife crisis. He also thinks that might not be bad. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Bastille Day, an interview with French journalist Agnes C. Poirier about the causes of the "Yellow Vest" protests which rocked the country last fall. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.